Creative Thinking Practices among Saudi English as a Foreign Language Teachers

Abstract

This study aims to identify and classify the degree of creative thinking practices implemented by middle school teachers from their own perspective. All English language teachers in Al Qunfudah School District during the academic year (2012/2013) are included in this study. A questionnaire that addresses four areas has been used to achieve the goals of the current study. The four areas are freedom of expression, methods of teaching and learning activities, creativity acceptance, and evaluation techniques. The questionnaires have been randomly distributed to a sample of 86 teachers. The results show noticeable differences with regard to the educational qualifications, especially for participants holding qualifications higher than a Bachelor’s degree, except within the area of “methods of teaching and learning activities”. Moreover, results show significant differences within the area of “creativity acceptance” with regard to participants classified as experienced with “five years or less”. The study presents recommendations to develop aspects of creative thinking such as providing a secure educational environment that promotes and stimulates student thinking and creativity.